Articles | Volume 15, issue 22
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-7043-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-7043-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
27 Nov 2018
Research article |
| 27 Nov 2018
| 27 Nov 2018
Alteration of nitrous oxide emissions from floodplain soils by aggregate size, litter accumulation and plant–soil interactions
Martin Ley
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 30, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
Moritz F. Lehmann
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 30, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
Pascal A. Niklaus
Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
Jörg Luster
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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Carolina F.M. de Carvalho, Moritz F. Lehmann, and Sarah G. Pati
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1193, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1193, 2025
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Using O2 stable isotope analysis, we determined the isotopic fractionation of biological O2 consumption by 10 flavin-dependent and 6 metalloenzymes. Metalloenzymes displayed a narrower range and lower values of isotopic fractionation than flavin-dependent enzymes. This work expands our understanding of the variability of oxygen isotopic fractionation at the enzyme level, improving the ability to study O2 dynamics from molecular to ecosystem scales.
Guangyi Su, Julie Tolu, Clemens Glombitza, Jakob Zopfi, Moritz F. Lehmann, Mark A. Lever, and Carsten J. Schubert
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-437, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-437, 2025
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In Lake Geneva, we studied how different types of organic matter affect methane production. Despite varying sources—like algae and land-based materials, both deep and delta areas are significant methane sources and methane was mainly produced through CO2 reduction. Surprisingly, the origin of organic matter didn’t strongly influence methane production rates or pathways. Our findings highlight the need to better understand microbial processes to predict methane emissions from lakes.
Claudia Guidi, Sia Gosheva-Oney, Markus Didion, Roman Flury, Lorenz Walthert, Stephan Zimmermann, Brian J. Oney, Pascal A. Niklaus, Esther Thürig, Toni Viskari, Jari Liski, and Frank Hagedorn
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3788, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3788, 2024
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Predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in forests is crucial for assessing C balance, yet drivers of SOC stocks remain uncertain at large scales. Across a broad environmental gradient in Switzerland, we compared measured SOC stocks with those modelled by Yasso20, commonly used for GHG budgets. Our results show that soil mineral properties and climate are main controls of SOC stocks, indicating that better accounting of these processes will advance accuracy of SOC stock predictions.
Owen A. Sherwood, Samuel H. Davin, Nadine Lehmann, Carolyn Buchwald, Evan N. Edinger, Moritz F. Lehmann, and Markus Kienast
Biogeosciences, 18, 4491–4510, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4491-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4491-2021, 2021
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Pacific water flowing eastward through the Canadian Arctic plays an important role in redistributing nutrients to the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Using samples collected from northern Baffin Bay to the southern Labrador Shelf, we show that stable isotopic ratios in seawater nitrate reflect the fraction of Pacific to Atlantic water. These results provide a new framework for interpreting patterns of nitrogen isotopic variability recorded in modern and archival organic materials in the region.
Sigrid van Grinsven, Kirsten Oswald, Bernhard Wehrli, Corinne Jegge, Jakob Zopfi, Moritz F. Lehmann, and Carsten J. Schubert
Biogeosciences, 18, 3087–3101, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3087-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3087-2021, 2021
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Lake Lovojärvi is a nutrient-rich lake with high amounts of methane at the bottom, but little near the top. Methane comes from the sediment and rises up through the water but is consumed by microorganisms along the way. They use oxygen if available, but in deeper water layers, no oxygen was present. There, nitrite, iron and humic substances were used, besides a collaboration between photosynthetic organisms and methane consumers, in which the first produced oxygen for the latter.
Yunhua Chang, Yan-Lin Zhang, Sawaeng Kawichai, Qian Wang, Martin Van Damme, Lieven Clarisse, Tippawan Prapamontol, and Moritz F. Lehmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7187–7198, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7187-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7187-2021, 2021
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In this study, we integrated satellite constraints on atmospheric NH3 levels and fire intensity, discrete NH3 concentration measurement, and N isotopic analysis of NH3 in order to assess the regional-scale contribution of biomass burning to ambient atmospheric NH3 in the heartland of Southeast Asia. The combined approach provides a valuable cross-validation framework for source apportioning of NH3 in the lower atmosphere and will thus help to ameliorate predictions of biomass burning emissions.
Maitane Iturrate-Garcia, Monique M. P. D. Heijmans, J. Hans C. Cornelissen, Fritz H. Schweingruber, Pascal A. Niklaus, and Gabriela Schaepman-Strub
Biogeosciences, 17, 4981–4998, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4981-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4981-2020, 2020
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Changes on plant traits associated with climate warming might alter vegetation–climate interactions. We investigated experimentally the effects of enhanced permafrost thaw and soil nutrients on a wide set of tundra shrub traits. We found a coordinated trait response to some treatments, which suggests a shift in shrub resource, growth and defence strategies. This shift might feed back into permafrost thaw – through mechanisms associated with water demand – and into carbon and energy fluxes.
Anna-Neva Visser, Scott D. Wankel, Pascal A. Niklaus, James M. Byrne, Andreas A. Kappler, and Moritz F. Lehmann
Biogeosciences, 17, 4355–4374, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4355-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4355-2020, 2020
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This study focuses on the chemical reaction between Fe(II) and nitrite, which has been reported to produce high levels of the greenhouse gas N2O. We investigated the extent to which dead biomass and Fe(II) minerals might enhance this reaction. Here, nitrite reduction was highest when both additives were present but less pronounced if only Fe(II) minerals were added. Both reaction systems show distinct differences, rather low N2O levels, and indicated the abiotic production of N2.
Adeline N. Y. Cojean, Jakob Zopfi, Alan Gerster, Claudia Frey, Fabio Lepori, and Moritz F. Lehmann
Biogeosciences, 16, 4705–4718, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4705-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4705-2019, 2019
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Our results demonstrate the importance of oxygen in regulating the fate of nitrogen (N) in the sediments of Lake Lugano south basin, Switzerland. Hence, our study suggests that, by changing oxygen concentration in bottom waters, the seasonal water column turnover may significantly regulate the partitioning between N removal and N recycling in surface sediments, and it is likely that a similar pattern can be expected in a wide range of environments.
Yunhua Chang, Yan-Lin Zhang, Jiarong Li, Chongguo Tian, Linlin Song, Xiaoyao Zhai, Wenqi Zhang, Tong Huang, Yu-Chi Lin, Chao Zhu, Yunting Fang, Moritz F. Lehmann, and Jianmin Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 12221–12234, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12221-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12221-2019, 2019
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The present work underscores the value of cloud water dissolved inorganic nitrogen isotopes as carriers of quantitative information on regional NOx and NH3 emissions. It sheds light on the origin and production pathways of nitrogenous species in clouds and emphasizes the importance of biomass-burning-derived nitrogenous species as cloud condensation nuclei in China’s troposphere. Moreover, it highlights the rapid evolution of NOx emissions in China.
Haoyi Yao, Wei-Li Hong, Giuliana Panieri, Simone Sauer, Marta E. Torres, Moritz F. Lehmann, Friederike Gründger, and Helge Niemann
Biogeosciences, 16, 2221–2232, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2221-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2221-2019, 2019
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How methane is transported in the sediment is important for the microbial community living on methane. Here we report an observation of a mini-fracture that facilitates the advective gas transport of methane in the sediment, compared to the diffusive fluid transport without a fracture. We found contrasting bio-geochemical signals in these different transport modes. This finding can help to fill the gap in the fracture network system in modulating methane dynamics in surface sediments.
Yunhua Chang, Yanlin Zhang, Chongguo Tian, Shichun Zhang, Xiaoyan Ma, Fang Cao, Xiaoyan Liu, Wenqi Zhang, Thomas Kuhn, and Moritz F. Lehmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11647–11661, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11647-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11647-2018, 2018
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We demonstrate that it is imperative that future studies, making use of isotope mixing models to gain conclusive constraints on the source partitioning of atmospheric NOx, consider this N isotope fractionation. Future assessments of NOx emissions in China (and elsewhere) should involve simultaneous δ15N and δ18O measurements of atmospheric nitrate and NOx at high spatiotemporal resolution, allowing former N-isotope-based NOx source partitioning estimates to be reevaluated more quantitatively.
Lea Steinle, Johanna Maltby, Tina Treude, Annette Kock, Hermann W. Bange, Nadine Engbersen, Jakob Zopfi, Moritz F. Lehmann, and Helge Niemann
Biogeosciences, 14, 1631–1645, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1631-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1631-2017, 2017
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Large amounts of methane are produced in anoxic, coastal sediments, from which it can seep into the overlying water column. Aerobic oxidation of methane (MOx) mediated by methanotrophic bacteria is an important sink for methane before its evasion to the atmosphere. In a 2-year seasonal study, we investigated the spatio-temporal variability of MOx in a seasonally hypoxic coastal inlet using radiotracer-based methods. In experiments, we assessed the effect of variable oxygen concentrations on MOx.
S. D. Wankel, C. Buchwald, W. Ziebis, C. B. Wenk, and M. F. Lehmann
Biogeosciences, 12, 7483–7502, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-7483-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-7483-2015, 2015
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In the sediments underlying the global oligotrophic ocean, low levels of microbial activity persist, despite low input of organic matter from surface ocean productivity. Using measured nitrogen and oxygen isotopes of porewater nitrate we estimate the magnitude and extent of microbial nitrogen cycling. We find evidence for the overlap of both denitrification as well as autotrophic pathways such as nitrification and nitrogen fixation, pointing to a relatively large role for subsurface autotrophy.
M. Schirmer, J. Luster, N. Linde, P. Perona, E. A. D. Mitchell, D. A. Barry, J. Hollender, O. A. Cirpka, P. Schneider, T. Vogt, D. Radny, and E. Durisch-Kaiser
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2449–2462, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2449-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2449-2014, 2014
C. V. Freymond, C. B. Wenk, C. H. Frame, and M. F. Lehmann
Biogeosciences, 10, 8373–8383, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-8373-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-8373-2013, 2013
M. Alkhatib, P. A. del Giorgio, Y. Gelinas, and M. F. Lehmann
Biogeosciences, 10, 7609–7622, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-7609-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-7609-2013, 2013
R. Zurbrügg, S. Suter, M. F. Lehmann, B. Wehrli, and D. B. Senn
Biogeosciences, 10, 23–38, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-23-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-23-2013, 2013
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Depth effects of long-term organic residue application on soil organic carbon stocks in central Kenya
Validating laboratory predictions of soil rewetting respiration pulses using field data
Modelling the effect of climate–substrate interactions on soil organic matter decomposition with the Jena Soil Model
Solubility characteristics of soil humic substances as a function of pH: mechanisms and biogeochemical perspectives
Exploring microscale heterogeneity as a driver of biogeochemical transformations and gas transport in peat
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Long-term fertilization increases soil but not plant or microbial N in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland
Factors controlling spatiotemporal variability of soil carbon accumulation and stock estimates in a tidal salt marsh
Moisture and temperature effects on the radiocarbon signature of respired carbon dioxide to assess stability of soil carbon in the Tibetan Plateau
Non-mycorrhizal root-associated fungi increase soil C stocks and stability via diverse mechanisms
Nine years of warming and nitrogen addition in the Tibetan grassland promoted loss of soil organic carbon but did not alter the bulk change in chemical structure
Soil priming effects and involved microbial community along salt gradients
Adjustments to the Rock-Eval® thermal analysis for soil organic and inorganic carbon quantification
Ecosystem-specific patterns and drivers of global reactive iron mineral-associated organic carbon
Dark septate endophytic fungi associated with pioneer grass inhabiting volcanic deposits and their functions in promoting plant growth
Global patterns and drivers of phosphorus fractions in natural soils
Reviews and syntheses: Iron – a driver of nitrogen bioavailability in soils?
How well does ramped thermal oxidation quantify the age distribution of soil carbon? Assessing thermal stability of physically and chemically fractionated soil organic matter
Differential temperature sensitivity of intracellular metabolic processes and extracellular soil enzyme activities
Mapping soil organic carbon fractions for Australia, their stocks, and uncertainty
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Deforestation for agriculture leads to soil warming and enhanced litter decomposition in subarctic soils
Temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon respiration along a forested elevation gradient in the Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda
The influence of elevated CO2 and soil depth on rhizosphere activity and nutrient availability in a mature Eucalyptus woodland
The paradox of assessing greenhouse gases from soils for nature-based solutions
Management-induced changes in soil organic carbon on global croplands
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Temperature sensitivity of dark CO2 fixation in temperate forest soils
Effects of precipitation seasonality, irrigation, vegetation cycle and soil type on enhanced weathering – modeling of cropland case studies across four sites
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Biogeosciences, 22, 2959–2977, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2959-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2959-2025, 2025
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At treeline, plant species change abruptly from low-stature plants in tundra to trees in forests. Our study documents that from tundra towards forest, the litter layer becomes strongly enriched in nutrients. We show that these litter quality changes alter nutrient processing by soil microbes and increase nutrient release during decomposition in forests compared to tundra. The associated improvement in nutrient availability in forests potentially stimulates tree growth and treeline shifts.
Jet Rijnders, Arthur Vienne, and Sara Vicca
Biogeosciences, 22, 2803–2829, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2803-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2803-2025, 2025
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A mesocosm experiment was set up to investigate how maize responds to the application of basalt, concrete fines, and steel slag, using a dose–response approach. Biomass increased with basalt application but did not change with concrete fines or steel slag, except for increased tassel biomass. Mg, Ca, and Si generally increased in the crops, whereas toxic trace elements remained unaffected or even decreased in the plants. Overall, crops were positively affected by the application of silicate materials.
Claude Raoul Müller, Johan Six, Daniel Mugendi Njiru, Bernard Vanlauwe, and Marijn Van de Broek
Biogeosciences, 22, 2733–2747, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2733-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2733-2025, 2025
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We studied how different organic and inorganic nutrient inputs affect soil organic carbon (SOC) down to 70 cm in Kenya. After 19 years, all organic treatments increased SOC stocks compared with the control, but mineral nitrogen had no significant effect. Manure was the organic treatment that significantly increased SOC at the deepest soil depths, as its effect could be observed down to 60 cm. Manure was the best strategy to limit SOC loss in croplands and maintain soil quality after deforestation.
Xiankun Li, Marleen Pallandt, Dilip Naidu, Johannes Rousk, Gustaf Hugelius, and Stefano Manzoni
Biogeosciences, 22, 2691–2705, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2691-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2691-2025, 2025
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While laboratory studies have identified many drivers and their effects on the carbon emission pulse after rewetting of dry soils, a validation with field data is still missing. Here, we show that the carbon emission pulse in the laboratory and in the field increases with soil organic carbon and temperature, but their trends with pre-rewetting dryness and moisture increment at rewetting differ. We conclude that the laboratory findings can be partially validated.
Marleen Pallandt, Marion Schrumpf, Holger Lange, Markus Reichstein, Lin Yu, and Bernhard Ahrens
Biogeosciences, 22, 1907–1928, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1907-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1907-2025, 2025
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As soils warm due to climate change, soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposes faster due to increased microbial activity, given sufficient available moisture. We modelled the microbial decomposition of plant litter and residue at different depths and found that deep soil layers are more sensitive than topsoils. Warming causes SOC loss, but its extent depends on the litter type and its temperature sensitivity, which can either counteract or amplify losses. Droughts may also counteract warming-induced SOC losses.
Xuemei Yang, Jie Zhang, Khan M. G. Mostofa, Mohammad Mohinuzzaman, H. Henry Teng, Nicola Senesi, Giorgio S. Senesi, Jie Yuan, Yu Liu, Si-Liang Li, Xiaodong Li, Baoli Wang, and Cong-Qiang Liu
Biogeosciences, 22, 1745–1765, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1745-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1745-2025, 2025
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Lukas Kohl, Petri Kiuru, Marjo Palviainen, Maarit Raivonen, Markku Koskinen, Mari Pihlatie, and Annamari Laurén
Biogeosciences, 22, 1711–1727, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1711-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1711-2025, 2025
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We present an assay to illuminate heterogeneity in biogeochemical transformations within peat samples. For this, we injected isotope-labeled acetate into peat cores and monitored the release of label-derived gases, which we compared to microtomography images. The fraction of label converted to CO2 and the rapidness of this conversion were linked to injection depth and air-filled porosity.
Qiang Pu, Bo Meng, Jen-How Huang, Kun Zhang, Jiang Liu, Yurong Liu, Mahmoud A. Abdelhafiz, and Xinbin Feng
Biogeosciences, 22, 1543–1556, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1543-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1543-2025, 2025
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Marijn Van de Broek, Gerard Govers, Marion Schrumpf, and Johan Six
Biogeosciences, 22, 1427–1446, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1427-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1427-2025, 2025
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Soil organic carbon models are used to predict how soils affect the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. We show that equifinality – the phenomenon that different parameter values lead to correct overall model outputs, albeit with a different model behaviour – is an important source of model uncertainty. Our results imply that adding more complexity to soil organic carbon models is unlikely to lead to better predictions as long as more data to constrain model parameters are not available.
Frederick Büks, Sabine Dumke, and Julia König
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-771, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-771, 2025
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Ultrasonication followed by density fractionation is a frequently used method to determine soil structural stability and the amount of occluded particulate organic matter. Our analyses of three sandy, silty and loamy soils showed that air-drying and gentle rewetting changes SOM fractions depending on the subsequent time of reincubation compared to field-fresh samples. This is important, since e.g. the measurement of archived soils require the handling of air-dried samples.
Hanna Sjulgård, Lukas Valentin Graf, Tino Colombi, Juliane Hirte, Thomas Keller, and Helge Aasen
Biogeosciences, 22, 1341–1354, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1341-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1341-2025, 2025
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Our study showed that stress-related crop response to changing environmental conditions can be detected by monitoring crops using satellite images at the landscape level. This could be useful for farmers to identify when stresses occur. Our results also suggest that satellite imagery can be used to discover soil impacts on crop development at farm fields. The inclusion of soil properties in satellite image analyses could further improve the accuracy of the prediction of drought stress on crops.
Joel Mohren, Hendrik Wiesel, Wulf Amelung, L. Keith Fifield, Alexandra Sandhage-Hofmann, Erik Strub, Steven A. Binnie, Stefan Heinze, Elmarie Kotze, Chris Du Preez, Stephen G. Tims, and Tibor J. Dunai
Biogeosciences, 22, 1077–1094, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1077-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1077-2025, 2025
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We measured concentrations of nuclear fallout in soil samples taken from arable land in South Africa. We find that during the second half of the 20th century, the data strongly correlate with the organic matter content of the soils. The finding implies that wind erosion strongly influenced the loss of organic matter in the soils we investigated. Furthermore, the exponential decline of fallout concentrations and organic matter content over time peaks shortly after native grassland is ploughed.
Lena Wang, Sharon Billings, Li Li, Daniel Hirmas, Keira Johnson, Devon Kerins, Julio Pachon, Curtis Beutler, Karla Jarecke, Vaishnavi Varikuti, Micah Unruh, Hoori Ajami, Holly Barnard, Alejandro Flores, Kenneth Williams, and Pamela Sullivan
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-70, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-70, 2025
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Our study looked at how different forest types and conditions affected soil microbes, and soil carbon and stability. Aspen organic matter led to higher microbial activity, smaller soil aggregates, and more stable soil carbon, possibly reducing dissolved organic carbon movement from hillslopes to streams. This shows the importance of models like the Microbial Efficiency – Matrix Stabilization framework for predicting CO2 release, soil carbon stability, and carbon movement.
Manon Rocco, Julien Kammer, Mathieu Santonja, Brice Temime-Roussel, Cassandra Saignol, Caroline Lecareux, Etienne Quivet, Henri Wortham, and Elena Ormeno
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-54, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-54, 2025
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Soil emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) play a significant role in ecosystems, yet the impact of litter accumulation on these emissions is often overlooked, particularly in Mediterranean deciduous forests. A study in downy oak forest identified over 135 BVOCs, many absorbed by the soil, while others were emitted and increased with litter biomass. This underscores the critical role of litter and microbial activity in shaping soil BVOC dynamics under changing climates.
Henning Teickner, Edzer Pebesma, and Klaus-Holger Knorr
Biogeosciences, 22, 417–433, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-417-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-417-2025, 2025
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Decomposition rates for Sphagnum mosses, the main peat-forming plants in northern peatlands, are often derived from litterbag experiments. Here, we estimate initial leaching losses from available Sphagnum litterbag experiments and analyze how decomposition rates are biased when initial leaching losses are ignored. Our analyses indicate that initial leaching losses range between 3 to 18 mass-% and that this may result in overestimated mass losses when extrapolated to several decades.
Leila Maria Wahab, Sora Kim, and Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3607, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3607, 2025
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Soils are a large reservoir of carbon on land and there is uncertainty regarding how it will be affected by climate change. There is still active research about how changing precipitation patterns, a key aspect of climate change, will affect soil carbon and furthermore how vulnerable subsoils are to climate change. In this study, we studied subsoils after 20 years of experimentally manipulated precipitation shifts to see whether increasing precipitation would affect carbon amounts and chemistry.
Shanshan Bai, Yifei Ge, Dongtan Yao, Yifan Wang, Jinfang Tan, Shuai Zhang, Yutao Peng, and Xiaoqian Jiang
Biogeosciences, 22, 135–151, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-135-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-135-2025, 2025
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Mineral fertilization led to increases in total P, available P, high-activity inorganic P fractions, and organic P but reduced the abundance of P-cycling genes by decreasing soil pH and increasing P in bulk soil. Straw retention enhanced organic carbon, total P, and available P concentrations in water-extractable colloids (WECs). Abundances of the phoD gene and phoD-harboring Proteobacteria in WECs were elevated under straw retention, suggesting an increase in P-mineralization capacity.
Kyle E. Smart, Daniel O. Breecker, Christopher B. Blackwood, and Timothy M. Gallagher
Biogeosciences, 22, 87–101, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-87-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-87-2025, 2025
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When microbes consume carbon within soils, it is important to know how much carbon is respired and lost as carbon dioxide versus how much is used to make new biomass. We used a new approach of monitoring carbon dioxide and oxygen to track the fate of consumed carbon during a series of laboratory experiments where sugar was added to moistened soil. Our approach allowed us to estimate how much sugar was converted to dead microbial biomass, which is more likely to be preserved in soils.
Claudia Guidi, Sia Gosheva-Oney, Markus Didion, Roman Flury, Lorenz Walthert, Stephan Zimmermann, Brian J. Oney, Pascal A. Niklaus, Esther Thürig, Toni Viskari, Jari Liski, and Frank Hagedorn
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3788, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3788, 2024
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Predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in forests is crucial for assessing C balance, yet drivers of SOC stocks remain uncertain at large scales. Across a broad environmental gradient in Switzerland, we compared measured SOC stocks with those modelled by Yasso20, commonly used for GHG budgets. Our results show that soil mineral properties and climate are main controls of SOC stocks, indicating that better accounting of these processes will advance accuracy of SOC stock predictions.
Jiyin Li, Yeming You, Wen Zhang, Yi Wang, Yuying Liang, Haimei Huang, Hailun Ma, Qinxia He, Angang Ming, and Xueman Huang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3456, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3456, 2024
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Monoculture of Eucalyptus can lead to soil degradation. In this study, we introduced nitrogen-fixing species in Eucalyptus plantations and investigated the effect of the introduction of nitrogen-fixing species on soil phosphorus transformation by soil microorganisms and their nitrogen-phosphorus cycling functional genes, which may be a promising forest management strategy to improve ecosystem phosphorus benefits.
Katherine E. Grant, Marisa N. Repasch, Kari M. Finstad, Julia D. Kerr, Maxwell Marple, Christopher J. Larson, Taylor A. B. Broek, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, and Karis J. McFarlane
Biogeosciences, 21, 4395–4411, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4395-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4395-2024, 2024
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Soils store organic carbon composed of multiple compounds from plants and microbes for different lengths of time. To understand how soils store these different carbon types, we measure the time each carbon fraction is in a grassland soil profile. Our results show that the length of time each individual soil fraction is in our soil changes. Our approach allows a detailed look at the different components in soils. This study can help improve our understanding of soil dynamics.
Peter Levy, Laura Bentley, Peter Danks, Bridget Emmett, Angus Garbutt, Stephen Heming, Peter Henrys, Aidan Keith, Inma Lebron, Niall McNamara, Richard Pywell, John Redhead, David Robinson, and Alexander Wickenden
Biogeosciences, 21, 4301–4315, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4301-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4301-2024, 2024
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We collated a large data set (15 790 soil cores) on soil carbon stock in different land uses. Soil carbon stocks were highest in woodlands and lowest in croplands. The variability in the effects was large. This has important implications for agri-environment schemes seeking to sequester carbon in the soil by altering land use because the effect of a given intervention is very hard to verify.
Marija Stojanova, Pierre Arbelet, François Baudin, Nicolas Bouton, Giovanni Caria, Lorenza Pacini, Nicolas Proix, Edouard Quibel, Achille Thin, and Pierre Barré
Biogeosciences, 21, 4229–4237, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4229-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4229-2024, 2024
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Because of its importance for climate regulation and soil health, many studies focus on carbon dynamics in soils. However, quantifying organic and inorganic carbon remains an issue in carbonated soils. In this technical note, we propose a validated correction method to quantify organic and inorganic carbon in soils using Rock-Eval® thermal analysis. With this correction, the Rock-Eval® method has the potential to become the standard method for quantifying carbon in carbonate soils.
Armando Molina, Veerle Vanacker, Oliver Chadwick, Santiago Zhiminaicela, Marife Corre, and Edzo Veldkamp
Biogeosciences, 21, 3075–3091, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3075-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3075-2024, 2024
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The tropical Andes contains unique landscapes where forest patches are surrounded by tussock grasses and cushion-forming plants. The aboveground vegetation composition informs us about belowground nutrient availability: patterns in plant-available nutrients resulted from strong biocycling of cations and removal of soil nutrients by plant uptake or leaching. Future changes in vegetation distribution will affect soil water and solute fluxes and the aquatic ecology of Andean rivers and lakes.
Sahiti Bulusu, Cristina Prieto García, Helen E. Dahlke, and Elad Levintal
Biogeosciences, 21, 3007–3013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3007-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3007-2024, 2024
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Do-it-yourself hardware is a new way to improve measurement resolution. We present a low-cost, automated system for field measurements of low nitrate concentrations in soil porewater and open water bodies. All data hardware components cost USD 1100, which is much cheaper than other available commercial solutions. We provide the complete building guide to reduce technical barriers, which we hope will allow easier reproducibility and set up new soil and environmental monitoring applications.
Violeta Mendoza-Martinez, Scott L. Collins, and Jennie R. McLaren
Biogeosciences, 21, 2655–2667, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2655-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2655-2024, 2024
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We examine the impacts of multi-decadal nitrogen additions on a dryland ecosystem N budget, including the soil, microbial, and plant N pools. After 26 years, there appears to be little impact on the soil microbial or plant community and only minimal increases in N pools within the soil. While perhaps encouraging from a conservation standpoint, we calculate that greater than 95 % of the nitrogen added to the system is not retained and is instead either lost deeper in the soil or emitted as gas.
Sean Fettrow, Andrew Wozniak, Holly A. Michael, and Angelia L. Seyfferth
Biogeosciences, 21, 2367–2384, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2367-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2367-2024, 2024
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Salt marshes play a big role in global carbon (C) storage, and C stock estimates are used to predict future changes. However, spatial and temporal gradients in C burial rates over the landscape exist due to variations in water inundation, dominant plant species and stage of growth, and tidal action. We quantified soil C concentrations in soil cores across time and space beside several porewater biogeochemical variables and discussed the controls on variability in soil C in salt marsh ecosystems.
Andrés Tangarife-Escobar, Georg Guggenberger, Xiaojuan Feng, Guohua Dai, Carolina Urbina-Malo, Mina Azizi-Rad, and Carlos A. Sierra
Biogeosciences, 21, 1277–1299, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1277-2024, 2024
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Soil organic matter stability depends on future temperature and precipitation scenarios. We used radiocarbon (14C) data and model predictions to understand how the transit time of carbon varies under environmental change in grasslands and peatlands. Soil moisture affected the Δ14C of peatlands, while temperature did not have any influence. Our models show the correspondence between Δ14C and transit time and could allow understanding future interactions between terrestrial and atmospheric carbon
Emiko K. Stuart, Laura Castañeda-Gómez, Wolfram Buss, Jeff R. Powell, and Yolima Carrillo
Biogeosciences, 21, 1037–1059, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1037-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1037-2024, 2024
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We inoculated wheat plants with various types of fungi whose impacts on soil carbon are poorly understood. After several months of growth, we examined both their impacts on soil carbon and the underlying mechanisms using multiple methods. Overall the fungi benefitted the storage of carbon in soil, mainly by improving the stability of pre-existing carbon, but several pathways were involved. This study demonstrates their importance for soil carbon storage and, therefore, climate change mitigation.
Huimin Sun, Michael W. I. Schmidt, Jintao Li, Jinquan Li, Xiang Liu, Nicholas O. E. Ofiti, Shurong Zhou, and Ming Nie
Biogeosciences, 21, 575–589, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-575-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-575-2024, 2024
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A soil organic carbon (SOC) molecular structure suggested that the easily decomposable and stabilized SOC is similarly affected after 9-year warming and N treatments despite large changes in SOC stocks. Given the long residence time of some SOC, the similar loss of all measurable chemical forms of SOC under global change treatments could have important climate consequences.
Haoli Zhang, Doudou Chang, Zhifeng Zhu, Chunmei Meng, and Kaiyong Wang
Biogeosciences, 21, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1-2024, 2024
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Soil salinity mediates microorganisms and soil processes like soil organic carbon (SOC) cycling. We observed that negative priming effects at the early stages might be due to the preferential utilization of cottonseed meal. The positive priming that followed decreased with the increase in salinity.
Joséphine Hazera, David Sebag, Isabelle Kowalewski, Eric Verrecchia, Herman Ravelojaona, and Tiphaine Chevallier
Biogeosciences, 20, 5229–5242, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5229-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5229-2023, 2023
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This study adapts the Rock-Eval® protocol to quantify soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) on a non-pretreated soil aliquot. The standard protocol properly estimates SOC contents once the TOC parameter is corrected. However, it cannot complete the thermal breakdown of SIC amounts > 4 mg, leading to an underestimation of high SIC contents by the MinC parameter, even after correcting for this. Thus, the final oxidation isotherm is extended to 7 min to quantify any SIC amount.
Bo Zhao, Amin Dou, Zhiwei Zhang, Zhenyu Chen, Wenbo Sun, Yanli Feng, Xiaojuan Wang, and Qiang Wang
Biogeosciences, 20, 4761–4774, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4761-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4761-2023, 2023
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This study provided a comprehensive analysis of the spatial variability and determinants of Fe-bound organic carbon (Fe-OC) among terrestrial, wetland, and marine ecosystems and its governing factors globally. We illustrated that reactive Fe was not only an important sequestration mechanism for OC in terrestrial ecosystems but also an effective “rusty sink” of OC preservation in wetland and marine ecosystems, i.e., a key factor for long-term OC storage in global ecosystems.
Han Sun, Tomoyasu Nishizawa, Hiroyuki Ohta, and Kazuhiko Narisawa
Biogeosciences, 20, 4737–4749, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4737-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4737-2023, 2023
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In this research, we assessed the diversity and function of the dark septate endophytic (DSE) fungi community associated with Miscanthus condensatus root in volcanic ecosystems. Both metabarcoding and isolation were adopted in this study. We further validated effects on plant growth by inoculation of some core DSE isolates. This study helps improve our understanding of the role of Miscanthus condensatus-associated DSE fungi during the restoration of post-volcanic ecosystems.
Xianjin He, Laurent Augusto, Daniel S. Goll, Bruno Ringeval, Ying-Ping Wang, Julian Helfenstein, Yuanyuan Huang, and Enqing Hou
Biogeosciences, 20, 4147–4163, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4147-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4147-2023, 2023
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We identified total soil P concentration as the most important predictor of all soil P pool concentrations, except for primary mineral P concentration, which is primarily controlled by soil pH and only secondarily by total soil P concentration. We predicted soil P pools’ distributions in natural systems, which can inform assessments of the role of natural P availability for ecosystem productivity, climate change mitigation, and the functioning of the Earth system.
Imane Slimani, Xia Zhu-Barker, Patricia Lazicki, and William Horwath
Biogeosciences, 20, 3873–3894, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3873-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3873-2023, 2023
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There is a strong link between nitrogen availability and iron minerals in soils. These minerals have multiple outcomes for nitrogen availability depending on soil conditions and properties. For example, iron can limit microbial degradation of nitrogen in aerated soils but has opposing outcomes in non-aerated soils. This paper focuses on the multiple ways iron can affect nitrogen bioavailability in soils.
Shane W. Stoner, Marion Schrumpf, Alison Hoyt, Carlos A. Sierra, Sebastian Doetterl, Valier Galy, and Susan Trumbore
Biogeosciences, 20, 3151–3163, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3151-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3151-2023, 2023
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Soils store more carbon (C) than any other terrestrial C reservoir, but the processes that control how much C stays in soil, and for how long, are very complex. Here, we used a recent method that involves heating soil in the lab to measure the range of C ages in soil. We found that most C in soil is decades to centuries old, while some stays for much shorter times (days to months), and some is thousands of years old. Such detail helps us to estimate how soil C may react to changing climate.
Adetunji Alex Adekanmbi, Laurence Dale, Liz Shaw, and Tom Sizmur
Biogeosciences, 20, 2207–2219, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2207-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2207-2023, 2023
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The decomposition of soil organic matter and flux of carbon dioxide are expected to increase as temperatures rise. However, soil organic matter decomposition is a two-step process whereby large molecules are first broken down outside microbial cells and then respired within microbial cells. We show here that these two steps are not equally sensitive to increases in soil temperature and that global warming may cause a shift in the rate-limiting step from outside to inside the microbial cell.
Mercedes Román Dobarco, Alexandre M. J-C. Wadoux, Brendan Malone, Budiman Minasny, Alex B. McBratney, and Ross Searle
Biogeosciences, 20, 1559–1586, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1559-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1559-2023, 2023
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Soil organic carbon (SOC) is of a heterogeneous nature and varies in chemistry, stabilisation mechanisms, and persistence in soil. In this study we mapped the stocks of SOC fractions with different characteristics and turnover rates (presumably PyOC >= MAOC > POC) across Australia, combining spectroscopy and digital soil mapping. The SOC stocks (0–30 cm) were estimated as 13 Pg MAOC, 2 Pg POC, and 5 Pg PyOC.
Frederick Büks
Biogeosciences, 20, 1529–1535, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1529-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1529-2023, 2023
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Ultrasonication with density fractionation of soils is a commonly used method to separate soil organic matter pools, which is, e.g., important to calculate carbon turnover in landscapes. It is shown that the approach that merges soil and dense solution without mixing has a low recovery rate and causes co-extraction of parts of the retained labile pool along with the intermediate pool. An alternative method with high recovery rates and no cross-contamination was recommended.
Tino Peplau, Christopher Poeplau, Edward Gregorich, and Julia Schroeder
Biogeosciences, 20, 1063–1074, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023, 2023
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We buried tea bags and temperature loggers in a paired-plot design in soils under forest and agricultural land and retrieved them after 2 years to quantify the effect of land-use change on soil temperature and litter decomposition in subarctic agricultural systems. We could show that agricultural soils were on average 2 °C warmer than forests and that litter decomposition was enhanced. The results imply that deforestation amplifies effects of climate change on soil organic matter dynamics.
Joseph Okello, Marijn Bauters, Hans Verbeeck, Samuel Bodé, John Kasenene, Astrid Françoys, Till Engelhardt, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Ralf Kiese, and Pascal Boeckx
Biogeosciences, 20, 719–735, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, 2023
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The increase in global and regional temperatures has the potential to drive accelerated soil organic carbon losses in tropical forests. We simulated climate warming by translocating intact soil cores from higher to lower elevations. The results revealed increasing temperature sensitivity and decreasing losses of soil organic carbon with increasing elevation. Our results suggest that climate warming may trigger enhanced losses of soil organic carbon from tropical montane forests.
Johanna Pihlblad, Louise C. Andresen, Catriona A. Macdonald, David S. Ellsworth, and Yolima Carrillo
Biogeosciences, 20, 505–521, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-505-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-505-2023, 2023
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Elevated CO2 in the atmosphere increases forest biomass productivity when growth is not limited by soil nutrients. This study explores how mature trees stimulate soil availability of nitrogen and phosphorus with free-air carbon dioxide enrichment after 5 years of fumigation. We found that both nutrient availability and processes feeding available pools increased in the rhizosphere, and phosphorus increased at depth. This appears to not be by decomposition but by faster recycling of nutrients.
Rodrigo Vargas and Van Huong Le
Biogeosciences, 20, 15–26, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-15-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-15-2023, 2023
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Quantifying the role of soils in nature-based solutions requires accurate estimates of soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. We suggest that multiple GHG fluxes should not be simultaneously measured at a few fixed time intervals, but an optimized sampling approach can reduce bias and uncertainty. Our results have implications for assessing GHG fluxes from soils and a better understanding of the role of soils in nature-based solutions.
Kristine Karstens, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Jan Philipp Dietrich, Marta Dondini, Jens Heinke, Matthias Kuhnert, Christoph Müller, Susanne Rolinski, Pete Smith, Isabelle Weindl, Hermann Lotze-Campen, and Alexander Popp
Biogeosciences, 19, 5125–5149, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5125-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5125-2022, 2022
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Soil organic carbon (SOC) has been depleted by anthropogenic land cover change and agricultural management. While SOC models often simulate detailed biochemical processes, the management decisions are still little investigated at the global scale. We estimate that soils have lost around 26 GtC relative to a counterfactual natural state in 1975. Yet, since 1975, SOC has been increasing again by 4 GtC due to a higher productivity, recycling of crop residues and manure, and no-tillage practices.
Petri Kiuru, Marjo Palviainen, Arianna Marchionne, Tiia Grönholm, Maarit Raivonen, Lukas Kohl, and Annamari Laurén
Biogeosciences, 19, 5041–5058, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5041-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5041-2022, 2022
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Peatlands are large carbon stocks. Emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from peatlands may increase due to changes in management and climate. We studied the variation in the gas diffusivity of peat with depth using pore network simulations and laboratory experiments. Gas diffusivity was found to be lower in deeper peat with smaller pores and lower pore connectivity. However, gas diffusivity was not extremely low in wet conditions, which may reflect the distinctive structure of peat.
Rachael Akinyede, Martin Taubert, Marion Schrumpf, Susan Trumbore, and Kirsten Küsel
Biogeosciences, 19, 4011–4028, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4011-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4011-2022, 2022
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Soils will likely become warmer in the future, and this can increase the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. As microbes can take up soil CO2 and prevent further escape into the atmosphere, this study compares the rate of uptake and release of CO2 at two different temperatures. With warming, the rate of CO2 uptake increases less than the rate of release, indicating that the capacity to modulate soil CO2 release into the atmosphere will decrease under future warming.
Giuseppe Cipolla, Salvatore Calabrese, Amilcare Porporato, and Leonardo V. Noto
Biogeosciences, 19, 3877–3896, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3877-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3877-2022, 2022
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Enhanced weathering (EW) is a promising strategy for carbon sequestration. Since models may help to characterize field EW, the present work applies a hydro-biogeochemical model to four case studies characterized by different rainfall seasonality, vegetation and soil type. Rainfall seasonality strongly affects EW dynamics, but low carbon sequestration suggests that an in-depth analysis at the global scale is required to see if EW may be effective to mitigate climate change.
Vao Fenotiana Razanamahandry, Marjolein Dewaele, Gerard Govers, Liesa Brosens, Benjamin Campforts, Liesbet Jacobs, Tantely Razafimbelo, Tovonarivo Rafolisy, and Steven Bouillon
Biogeosciences, 19, 3825–3841, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022, 2022
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In order to shed light on possible past vegetation shifts in the Central Highlands of Madagascar, we measured stable isotope ratios of organic carbon in soil profiles along both forested and grassland hillslope transects in the Lake Alaotra region. Our results show that the landscape of this region was more forested in the past: soils in the C4-dominated grasslands contained a substantial fraction of C3-derived carbon, increasing with depth.
Katherine E. O. Todd-Brown, Rose Z. Abramoff, Jeffrey Beem-Miller, Hava K. Blair, Stevan Earl, Kristen J. Frederick, Daniel R. Fuka, Mario Guevara Santamaria, Jennifer W. Harden, Katherine Heckman, Lillian J. Heran, James R. Holmquist, Alison M. Hoyt, David H. Klinges, David S. LeBauer, Avni Malhotra, Shelby C. McClelland, Lucas E. Nave, Katherine S. Rocci, Sean M. Schaeffer, Shane Stoner, Natasja van Gestel, Sophie F. von Fromm, and Marisa L. Younger
Biogeosciences, 19, 3505–3522, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3505-2022, 2022
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Research data are becoming increasingly available online with tantalizing possibilities for reanalysis. However harmonizing data from different sources remains challenging. Using the soils community as an example, we walked through the various strategies that researchers currently use to integrate datasets for reanalysis. We find that manual data transcription is still extremely common and that there is a critical need for community-supported informatics tools like vocabularies and ontologies.
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Short summary
Our laboratory study shows how microhabitat formation linked to soil aggregates, litter accumulation and plant soil interactions affects conditions under which
hot momentsof enhanced N2O emissions from floodplain soils during the drying phase after saturation occur. Larger aggregate size led to higher integrated flux rates when soil was unamended or mixed with leaf litter, whereas planting with willow significantly reduced emissions. Also, emission time patterns differed among the treatments.
Our laboratory study shows how microhabitat formation linked to soil aggregates, litter...
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